1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for the prevention of fires aboard aircraft, including aircraft which have crashed
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are two principal major fire hazards in aircraft cabins, namely:
(a) In-flight fire in the cabin spaces; and PA0 (b) Fire on the ground, following a crash, which spreads into the cabin. PA0 (a) Toxic fumes given off by the burning furnishings; PA0 (b) External fumes ducted through the aircraft by the chimney effect; PA0 (c) Flash-over fires in the aircraft furnishings; and PA0 (d) High temperature in the cabin. PA0 (a) The use of the aircraft's domestic water supply (fresh and used) to cope with in-flight fires during the immediate period following a crash; and/or PA0 (b) Pumping water from the ordinary hoses of the fire tenders into special connectors mounted at the extremities of the aircraft, one of which is certain to be accessible to the firemen.
Both of these involve combustion of the fabric and furnishings inside the aircraft and the emission of toxic fumes. Hand-held fire extinguishers are of limited use in the in-flight fires and totally ineffective in the major fires which follow crashes. Internal spray systems have been proposed for commercial and military aircraft, but they have not been adopted because they require the aircraft to carry large quantities of water or other nontoxic extinguishing liquids and the weight penalty is unacceptable.
The majority of survivable crashes occur within the perimeter of an airfield and fire tenders are able to extinguish external fires within a matter of minutes. But in this brief period, a large number of passengers will have died from the effects of: